The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-27
A FIGHT BETWEEN SNAKES.
Two Indian Pythons Do Up Huge
South American Anaconda.
From the Philadelphia Telegraph.


From the Philadelphia Telegraph.
There was a scene of terrible excitement
and danger in the snake house at the Zoo
this morning, and the 25-foot deer-swallow-
ing anaconda from the wilds of South
America, who had just celebrated his semi
centennial, has yielded up the ghost and is
no more. The anaconda has been fellow
occupant with two Indian pythons of a 20
foot cage in the snake houses Being 10 feet
longer and little bigger in her waist meas
ure than his associates, who were only ID
feet long, 10 inches III diameter, % years Old,
and worth $500 apiece, while his age was 90,
his girth As inches, his weight 125 pounds,
and his value $500, he was sleepy, vicious,
and arrogant. Besides that he had an indi-
vidual bath-tub, for he will only kill and eat
his food when he is in the water. The ana
conda did not eat the first year he was at
the Zoo, and during the last few months he
has taken his meals with provoking irregu-
larity. But yesterday his appetite surged IN
upon him, and he got away with five ducks,
and last night, before the keeper put the
cover over his tub, he absorbed two more.
The pythons were served with a brace of
rabbits and an entree of birds, and were
left to their repose by Keeper Thompson.
1t is the nature of the sleek python to abho.
repose so long as he can worry anybody,
otto demonstration, he arose-thls Is
metaphor-and went over to the bath-tub
and showed the board off the anaconda, and
probably did it with a full consciousness of
his responsibility. Keeper Thompson was
in back room preparing breakfast for the
other snakes who have more delicate APP
petite than constructors, when peculiar
swish and rumble reached his ears. The mo-
ment he locked in at the door he was startled
| by huge, squirming, kissing hall of snakes
rolling around, for the anaconda, resenting
the impudence of the python in looking into
his private BATH had got out and gone for
him, with the logical result of involving the
second python. Then they were coiled
| tightly together into ball and squirming
over the floor. He called to Head Keeper
| Byrne, who summoned Keeper Harrison,
the Hercules, who manipulates the grizzlies
| in the bear pit.
Keeper Byrne understands the snake ma
| ture. He knows that if you want to uncoil
| him you take him by the tail and not by
| the head, because the tail is the most sensi
| tive part of his being. He went into the
cage and managed to extract one of the
| pythons from the mass and sling it into a
| corner. Harrison then came to his assist
ance to straighten out the convolutions of the
| anaconda and the remaining python, who
| were twisted together like the strands of a
| rope. This was necessary to save the ana
| conda, who, although he had fleet more of
| length and so pounds more of weight than
| his neighbor from India. was yet gradually
| losing his wind. Besides all that the python
had his fangs set firmly in his head. While
| thus engaged no attention was paid to the
| third snake that had been thrown in the
| corner. firing of his inactivity, when so
| much was going on he moved in the di-
rection of the head keeper. Thompson,
who had been on guard at the door of the
L L. L., "a IL
| python drew his head back and with a light
ming dart struck him in the thigh, where he
fastened his fangs, and in a twinkling threw
| three coils around the keepers legs. The
head keeper and Harrison dropped their
struggle with the anaconda and his foe and
came to the relief of Thompson Harrison
caught the python by the tail, and the rep
tile loosened his fangs to resent the inter
| ference, when Byrne caught him by the
head, and between them they UNFINISHED him
and liberated Thompson.
1t was necessary to quarantine the python
| while Byrne and Harrison went second
time to the relief of the $500 anaconda, and
to successfully quarantine him Harrison,
who is powerful man, caught him by the
tail and made him describe circles in the
air while the relief party was at work.
When the anaconda was liberated he was
| taken out of the cage. Harrison dropped
his snake and the me emerged and closed
the gate.
The two pythons had picnic, but they
were not satisfied and they darted vengefully
against the bars. The anaconda was
knocked out, and the head keeper and his
assistants picked him up as sailors pick up a
heavy rope cable and carried him to the
hospital. He was given warm bath and
| such stimulantS as would revive him from
his moribund condition, but he would not
revive and at 1890 O'Clock he passed tran
gully away, and the Smithsonian Institu-
ton at Washington will get mis- skin
Keeper Thompson has sharp, singing
wound on his thigh, but is safe, because the
python is of the constructor species and not
poisonous. At the same time he has ex-
pressed his indlsposition to meet another
python when he has got his dander up.